1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the collection and removal of refuse from an underground mine and more particularly to a mobile compactor unit that is transported to selected locations in the mine where refuse is collected and compacted and the compacted refuse is transported to a location where it is extracted from the mine to the surface for disposal out of the mine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modern advances in underground mining operations have demanded an increase in the use of materials and supplies which has created the generation of a substantial amount of refuse and waste materials that require disposal. The necessity of disposal of the waste material is mandated to comply with mine safety regulations which are strictly enforced, particularly to address the need for fire prevention which can have catastrophic results to personnel and equipment in an underground mine.
The refuse, waste material, and debris that are generated in conducting underground mining operations include a wide category of materials, both organic and inorganic. Commonly collected waste products include oil pails, sealant buckets, cardboard and paper products, cellophane, wood materials including pallets and waste timber products, banding materials, food products and many other items. Inorganic materials include, for example, plastic bottles, plastic sheet material, metal roof bolts and plates, mine ribbing materials, and mined debris, such as rock material.
Overall, the waste material, debris, and refuse that are removed from the mine are generated from the men and equipment for carrying out the mining operation. The refuse must be continually moved out of the mine to prevent its build up that can create a fire hazard. The conventional practice of collecting and transporting refuse out of the mine is a continual process that entails the collection and hauling by a number of methods available to mine personnel, typically by open top receptacles, such as conventional containers known as “dumpsters”.
Once a dumpster is filled, it must be moved to a location where the refuse can be extracted from the mine. This occurs in multiple hauling operations. Dumpsters are heavy and immobile and require loading onto a mine utility vehicle for movement to an airshaft where the dumpster is hoisted out of the mine to the surface. In many cases, the contents of a dumpster are transferred by hand into a stationary compactor which is moved out of the mine to the surface. At the surface, the contents of the dumpster or stationary compactor are picked up by a commercial hauler or emptied into a surface compactor or a pre-crusher compactor to reduce the volume of trash before it is hauled from the mine site by the commercial hauler.
The movement of dumpsters through the ventilated passageways of a mine is cumbersome and expensive because it requires the use of men and machinery for transporting the dumpsters and removes these resources from the tasks that support the production of mined material. One practice to facilitate the removal of dumpsters filled with refuse from the mine has been to connect the dumpsters and haul them to a central site located at an airshaft with a hoist for extraction and compaction on the surface out of the mine. This operation creates congestion in the mine passageways, particularly where the passageways have only one lane for travel. Consequently, the utilization of men and material for carrying out the mining operation is disrupted by the transport of dumpsters filled with refuse out of the mine. In many cases, the dumpsters have open tops, and the movement of the dumpsters generates discharge of the waste from the receptacles. As a result, the mine passageway is littered with debris, further creating a fire hazard and requiring the mine operation to take additional measures to comply with state and federal safety regulations.
The use of open top dumpsters to haul refuse to a central location in the mine requires multiple trips, creating a greater demand for the services of a commercial hauler to pick up the refuse once it is moved out of the mine to the surface. This imposes upon the mine operator the expense of daily hauling fees for disposal of the refuse. A disposal fee must be paid by the mine operator for each dumpster or receptacle that is picked up by a commercial hauler for transport to a disposal site.
To eliminate the problems associated with bulk handling of refuse and waste material collected in open top receptacles in a mine, hydraulically operated compacting units have been proposed for compacting waste in receptacles in an underground mine to facilitate more convenient transport of the waste material in a compacted condition out of the mine. German Patent 42 40 286 discloses a stationary compactor unit that is positioned at a desired location in the underground mine. The waste material is brought to the compaction unit and deposited through a feed hopper into a compression chamber. In the compression chamber, the waste material is compacted into a bale, and the bale is tied or wrapped by banding. After banding, the bale is ejected from the compaction unit. The banded, compacted bale of waste material is then transported out of the mine.
Use of waste compaction units below ground in excavation pits are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,269,562 and 4,358,238. U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,238 discloses an excavated open pit for receiving a compactor having an open top having a vertically positioned tubular chute. A receptacle containing the refuse is moved into position by a truck over the chute. The refuse is deposited through the chute into the compactor positioned in the pit. U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,562 also discloses a refuse compactor that is positioned below ground level in a ditch or trench. The refuse from a delivery truck is deposited into the below ground compactor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,806 discloses a hydraulically operated trash container unit that slides on transverse rods of a skid. When the trash container unit is full of compacted trash, turnbuckles are loosened to allow the unit to be lifted out of connection with the housing unit by hoist lines and lowered on to a dump vehicle for receiving the compacted trash from the container unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,597,045 discloses a hydraulically operated compactor mounted on a base assembly which is bolted or mounted to the floor of a mobile truck or trailer. The compacting apparatus is designed to minimize the height and length in comparison with conventional compacting apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,378 also discloses a compacting waste apparatus having a low profile feature for reducing the vertical dimension of the apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,407 discloses a compactor for compacting and storing waste material including in combination a storage box and a portable packing mechanism which is movable into and out of position relative to the storage box. U.S. Pat. No. 7,980,173 discloses a self-contained portable compactor having a hydraulic fluid power supply equipped with a breakaway coupler that facilitates a quick connect/disconnect of the hydraulic fluid lines to the compactor for a movement of the compactor.
There is need in underground mining operations for a system for disposing of waste material collected in the mining operations that allows for efficient collection and compaction of the waste material in the mine before it is removed from the mine. The number of hauls of uncompacted waste material needs to be eliminated and consolidated by compacting the waste material for a more efficient collection and removal from the mine, so as to reduce the expense of commercial waste hauler services. By efficiently collecting and disposing of waste material in a mine, the mining operation is not disrupted to accommodate waste haulage from the mine and the use of mine personnel for this function.